As it’s been mentioned before, I have finally completed the 5th State in the 50 Halfs x 50 States run. It wasn’t my best race of the season just based on how I performed and how I felt. Mentally, it was challenging because I was not as prepared for the weather and I started my warm-up way too early and just failed to stay warmed up until the start of the race.
Results Time: 1:34:11 (7:11/mile)
Place: 48 out of 1296 Total Runners (44 out of 655 Males)
Expo Review: There wasn’t one. You picked up your bib and complimentary race shirt at 7:30 in the morning. Maybe they do one at the beginning of the year to kick-off the entire NYCRuns races. But there wasn’t one.
Sneaker Review: Once again, I rocked the Nike Zoom Fly. This time the Royal blue colorway.
And of course, I’m always on the lookout for other runners wearing the Zoom Fly. There actually one runner wearing the new Zoom VaporFly 4%.
Course Review: The Parks and Rec crew of Central Park was awesome. They literally cleared the entire path. The race as a whole covered only part of Central Park. They called it the “upper-half.” There was some residual snow and the snow that fell from the trees but the roads were completely clear. There was the occasional horse droppings from the horse carriages but it was smooth sailing. What’s unique about the Central Park course is that the Park doesn’t shut down. So there were a lot of other people in the park. From bikers, runners, walkers, park goers, food vendors, dogs and cats. It was awesome. Heck NYU and Columbia cross country teams were there getting their training run in. The course itself was hilly, we stayed in the Central Park North end. From 102nd to 97th Street was the hilly part of the race encompassing Miles 3-5 and Miles 8-10. The rolling hills definitely made me want to stop, but it was a nice challenge. It made me rethink how training needs to occur for 2018.
Closing Thoughts: For as much as I’ll complain during the run (which is just lack of mental fortitude), it was a fun race. Central Park is an awesome place to get all sorts of different terrains and it’s a fun place to be. The snow made it all the more fun, honestly. There was snow falling from the trees and watching people dodge the snow was funny to watch. NYCRUNS holds a monthly race of all sorts of distances from 5Ks to Full marathons all throughout New York. Heck they literally have a race that allows you to run up the Empire State Building! If I had the availability and funds, it would be something I would love to do. I know I want another crack at New York City has a whole, and ideally I’d love to run New York City Marathon and Half, but need to qualify for that first! I’m back at it in March. The first half of the new comes in New Hampshire. It’ll be a cold one that’s for sure.
